I enjoy hiking barefoot, some climbing barefoot as well, but in some areas it seems inadvisable to hike barefoot, anybody know of some good quality Hiking boots that are as close to barefoot as possible, but can really take a beating, and hopefully breathe really well, but still offer good protection...?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2010 06:31AM by Curator.

I've always wanted a pair of these

[www.vibramfivefingers.com]

They do recommend the Vibrams for hiking . . .

yikes, wow, they look nice, but dont look like they are thick enough to offer enough protection against cactus needles...Plus their toughest models im looking at are only approved for "light trekking" so I dunno if they would really have the longevity id be looking for from something that expensive... Although if money wasnt an issue, they sure seem like the best option ive come across!!!

If I could, Id buy pair of KSO For bouldering, KSO trek for light hiking, and I think the treksport for more varied terrain... at least from first impression that is.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I like this thread and hope you get a lot of replies. I am always barefoot and hate when I have to wear shoes. I wear hiking sandals, such as Teva, all year except for snow days.

Check out Vivobarefoot 'boots'.
[www.terraplana.com]

I just wear my Chinese shoes when I go for a walk on the trails --

[www.goodorient.com]

Cool shoes kidraw, they look like they would kill my arches though... Although every other option ive seen looks like it will kill my wallet,LOL... I am not enjoying this change in climate... back home it wasnt an issue, hiking barefoot was no problem... except on a few more popular trails, where idiots would break bottles... here, not many places I can go to hike to begin with, and none of them are barefoot friendly,LOL...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

KidRaw,

Are those shoes really comfortable enough for long rambling walks on bad terrain? They look like these sneakers I bought at Pier 1 in the 80's for high school, and I wouldn't have hiked in those. Special insoles on yours, maybe?

Yes, I think so. They work for me. I wear them without socks and they fit snugly. Or I'll wear the old style tennis sometimes.

[www.blair.com]

hmmm, they look nice, I think they would last about 3-5 trips tough of the usual hikes I go on... not a big concern in the short run, as theres nothing to tough around here, but im going to be going on a trip with my friend after my mom gets better, and that one is gonna be tough!hmmm...maybe I'll just go Old school pauper and wrap my feet in a thick canvas.lol

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I hate to mention it, but I watched a show about parasites. Some of them are just waiting for a barefoot to burrow into the skin of a victim. Some are not so bad, unless you have a suppressed immunine system, or lack a spleen. Then watch out!

Still, it really skeves me out. I just think how and why do people mention things which seperate one from nature? It certainly didn't help my partner, who already opens doors with paper towels, and sprays his shoes with something before coming in. He also uses these booties to walk around the house, and is concerned that other people don't do it, who live here. He is worried about parasites entering his foot from the carpet.

don't get me started about touching a cat or a dog...he just doesn't do it, and considers them an abomination, along with anything they MIGHT have touched or walked on.

Oh my.... reminds me of my ex!! Afraid of all the unseen and unimagineable creepy crawlies in the world.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2010 06:12PM by RocketShip.

I was worse when I was younger, OCD, I recognized that although a certain amount of cleanliness above the average is good, that the levels I was taking it to was unhealthy, and through intense Cognitive behavioral therapy(not under the guidance of a professional however, but on my own.) I have been able to drastically reduce my OCD to relatively sane levels, Oh I still use tissue and whatnot to open restroom doors, public ones at least, and I wash my hands both be4 and after, and again before I eat anything, but I'm not afraid of parasites entering my feet, I'm very clean, but not obsessively so anymore (most of the time) And I can actually be around other peoples puke/blood/urine/fecal matter, without puking now...

Oh, and the strangest OCD tendency I had, I couldn't eat food that had touched each other...it made me sick to even attempt it, and the first few times I forced myself to do so, I actually puked, but over time I got over it, and now am quite fine with my food touching each other... I guess my point is, if your husband doesnt realize this is abnormal behavior, he may have OCPD, instead of OCD, and he may need professional help if he is ever to have the symptoms reduced.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

As far as I know, most of those really nasty parasites that enter through the sole of the foot or whatever like swampy conditions. So, high plains or mountain hiking barefoot should be OK. I'd be more worried about steppin' on skunk poo--that stuff's indelible!

wooo, that sure would be nasty...lol.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Interesting posts. Curator, the more I learn about you, the more complex you become. Mislo and Rocketship, your partners would hate living with my sloppy self. And Mislu, you just reminded me that although it sounds great to go walking the trails barefoot, that's absolutely right about what you might step on -- I know a young girl who is totally messed up now because four years ago, she stepped on an assasin bug outside - yikes.

er, I will take that as a compliment KidRaw...lol

An assassin bug? are those the ones im thinking about that are in south america and can give you Chagas disease??? or some other variety? I think there is like thousands of different varieties... and those are the only ones im aware of can kill humans (or at least make you wish you where dead)...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I don't like touching dogs and cats either. Can't help but think about what might be getting on my hands. Oogy.

Im at least mildly allergic to all furry creatures, so I dont have to worry about it to much...but I love cats:/ im SERIOUSLY allergic to rats though, its cool cause it helps me know within a short time whether or not a place im in has rats...lol...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Curator
OCD for sure, what is beyond that? OCPD what is that? I sometimes have to really, really hold my breath, and be patient and remind him that sometimes its good to relax from all of that stuff. Also that there is a balance between mental health and physical health.

He doesn't realize that in some ways he is making it actually worse for himself. If you keep everything sterile, doesn't that make your immune system weaker? I seem to have developed a lot of resistance to many things. I usually just get a stuffy nose and a headache with the flu bug that makes people go to the hospital.

But then again, when I was a child I loved to play hard and get really dirty. Its weird but I don't really feel clean unless I am really dirty first. Up until a year ago I still used to pick up bird feathers, thinking nothing of it. But he reminded me that bird feathers aren't safe, especially with bird flu.

I am in the habit of using tissue paper or paper towels now for opening doors. I am also paranoid about going shopping for clothes, towels, shoes etc...I never used to be, but he reminds me that there are bed bugs going around. They are a big problem in NYC, which isn't very far from where we live. (about a 30 min drive)

I suppose there might be some locations in the world which are ok to walk barefoot, but I think part of it is how conditioned your foot is. I knew someone in Alaska who walked barefoot in the thawing snow in the spring. I found that totally annoying. He did that on purpose. He seemed to get a rise from criticisms about it,especially anything to do with his feet getting cold. He said they were file.

I never knew what happened to him, and don't remember his name even now. I used to think I wish I could do that, but now I think something else. That is the type of person who seems to invincible who eventually something really, really bad happens to them because they go out of their way to do something non-conforming. Some of these cases are on the show "A 1,000 ways to die". I find it engrossing, but also interesting since I am just finishing a human anatomy class, and they always explain these weird cases of death. Things which don't seem likely to cause any problem, at least not at first.

OCPD= Obsessive compulsive personality disorder, its harder to battle as it is almost impossible for one to realize that their compulsions are abnormal and not necessarily healthy... So it does seem like he might fit within those guidelines, I have to say though that is a layman's opinion, based on some personal experience (Im Diagnosed OCD, my dad is Diagnosed OCPD) but still not a professionals opinion...

Being exposed to sickness, strengthens your resilience against it... basically trains your body to fight against future incursions... I am careful about where I walk barefoot though, the various dangers are why I want to find something that is similar to walking barefoot but offers protection...

I liked 1000 ways to die back when they where showing a downright miraculous survival story at the end of every episode, but when they stopped doing that, I found it to depressing to watch that show...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Curator,
yes, I like when the show when someone survives something they shouldn't have. The best was when the guy got sucked into a jet engine. I said to myself "NO WAY". How did he survive? It was because his helmet came off and it stopped the engine enough to keep him from hitting the blades, someone else was quick on their feet and shut the engine off. He had some type of injury from it, but he lived.

There is only so much that I can watch. But I watched enough to see what might have been a raw foodist! I was rather surprised. It actually wasn't their fault directly. It was because someone else was spraying her patch of wheatgrass with rat poison. I guess they didn't know that she was using that to make smoothies.

One thing I thought was strange was that more than one episode featured someone choking on a hot dog. I guess those things are really dangerous.Actually there were some other food related items, but every time its something processed, or animal related. I guess one could choke on fruit, but it seems less likely.

Thank you for the explanation about OCD, I think he has both. Its certainly part of his personality, as far as I have read descriptions about who they are. There are some very good aspects of the personality, loyalty, patience for the most part. Although lately he hasn't been particularly pleasant and patient. Humorous, and able to take a joke about himself. I am usually not very good that way. Forgiving, forgiving and forgiving. Its amazing! Oh, I forgot, generally very critical for things which have to do with neatness, being on time etc...

Are you looking for something to prevent direct contact with the ground, but allows free movement of the foot? or are you looking for something which provides support also? which means limiting movement to some degree. I just thought of some interesting things. Somehow attaching a leaf. I know that some people who do this marathon in death valley, they put a strip of electrical tape on their feet. Its mostly to add a layer of insulation to keep their feet from burning on the hot pavement/sand. Medical tape might be better as its specific for the skin.

I have seen some woven footwear which was made of reeds, fronds that look pretty loose and comfortable. Not so great for support, but might protect you from the nasties.

yeah I saw the one where her landlord was spraying strong poison all over her garden without telling her... I hope he got manslaughter charges:/ it wasnt just her wheatgrass, it was all of her veggies she was growing too...its really sad:/...

As far as OCD and OCPD goes, I think one can technically only have 1 of the 2, but there are varying degrees within both of them... only a professional I think would be able to tell you for sure what he has, but he sounds ALLOT like my dad...

Your ideas for shoes sound awesome actually I would like something that provides a bit of support And feels as close to being barefoot as possible. those vibram 5 fingers sound pretty awesome for what I want, they are just far outside my price range at this time...looks like the state might end up paying me to take care of my mom though...so who knows, might be able to afford them soon *crosses fingers* (I like reeds/fronds idea allot though...)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Not only do most porters in the Himalaya area go barefoot, they also use tumplines, bearing the entire load on their head, suitable for monster loads up to 320 pounds!

Quote

The Nepali porter is amazingly strong despite his her small stature. On average they can carry around 75 kg loads in baskets which are strapped with a tumpline on their forehead. They start at an early age of 10 with ‘small’ loads of 22kgs. The porters on the Everest trail carry up to 145kgs for the local market.

[outside.away.com]

[clydesoles.com]



[www.kk.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2010 05:47PM by brome.

I was playing with a football in my garden this summer past barefoot more due to lazyness had been fine for weeks on end and i must have stood on a wasp hidden under the grass and it was like stepping on a nail lol.

First time i had been stung so never had any idea what it was like. My mate did step on a nail walking barefoot outside so that kind of put me off.

I crushed a glass with my foot. Add to that having to treat plantar's warts in both the little man and myself and I am no longer such a fan of barefoot outdoor activities either.

Here's a barefoot teenage porter in Nepal:



[www.panoramio.com]

[www.18531.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2010 08:11PM by brome.

wooo, im never going barefoot in the snow,hahahaha... and powerlifer, ive stepped on a wasp while sparring in my yard once, that was not fun,lol...led to a permanently screwed up ankle...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?